I have been a member of the board for years, but haven't been here in so very, very long. Did lowcarb, did great.. then fell to the way side.. gained another 75 lbs... and here I am...

I haven't had insurance for the last 4 years so now that I have insurance, I went to the dr and am having all the testing done.

I had blood work up last Fri., Dr.'s office called on Tuesday, he was going out of town for the rest of the week, but wanted to see me first thing Monday morning. So I am (not so) patiently waiting for Monday to get here..

I went to the lab's website and printed out the results of my test. AND was devastated. All the years of abusing myself has finally caught up. Oh I am 54 years old. (not sure if that matters, but throwing it out there, lol)

I, immediately went in cleaned out the cabinets and am now eating LIKE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN.. DAMMIT! (excuse my language.. I am just so very mad at myself! sighhhhhhhhh)

I will probably follow a combination of Dr Bernstein/EFGT. Right now my main goal to not eat the whites/startches etc..., and keep track of EVERYTHING that crosses my lips. I drink a gallon of tea a day... but plan on trying to drink more water - water not just tea. But don't want to overload myself so that I end up quitting and dying from stupidity.

I just am not sure what all these numbers mean. I am reading everything I can get my hands on, but now I've read so much, it is all jumbled in my head.

I am morrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrbidly obese, so I know I have a long way to go.

good news is my triglycerides are 85.

Thank you for letting me share.. If anyone has any words of wisdom they would like to share.. I would so appreciate it.

Do you have a blood glucose meter? If so you can start testing before/after meals. There's great info at the BloodSugar 101 website on what to do. Do you have the Bernstein book? He of course tells you too.

Doctors tend to be reluctant to give large enough prescriptions for glucose strips to test often. I use the Relion Micro from Walmart, and it seems to be consistent enough (for me at least) to test regularly and often.

Good luck to you. My wake up call was also fastings up in the diabetic range, though I brought them back down before I went to the doctor. I got my fasting numbers down in just a couple weeks.

when you talk to the doc about it, no matter WHAT the diagnosis, be prepared to make a case for a prescription for a lot of test strips. Anette is right on that, they tend to give you too few. say you want to aggressively figure out what affects your blood sugars and want, for example, 8 a day for awhile to do that. you might not get it, but you can negotiate. the more testing you do, at the right times, the more control you can take of the whole thing.

and don't think it's a matter of you having abused yourself... it's genetic combined with environmental factors. the same things that led to a weight problem led to this. don't beat yourself up. it's largely things like exposure to plastic in foods (never microwave in plastic, don't use plastic water bottles and things, avoid canned tomatoes where the acidity brings the plastic can liners into the food) and possibly overuse of antibiotics.

embrace a prescription for Metformin, whether he calls you diabetic or not. It normally helps and is a good drug. REad on Blood Sugar 101 why you don't want to take most other diabetes drugs. If you get to the point you need more, insulin is the way to go. don't fear it! It's much healthier than the pills and easier than you imagine it would be, by a large factor!

good luck with this. you will do fine. *hug*

__________________Often I don't come back to read threads where I've posted. If you want me to see something, please send me a private message. Thanks!

Helenback: I can relate to the issue of this diagnosis. I can recall when my fasting glucose was 424 and A1C was 13.5 when I was diagnosed. Morbidly obese?? try weighing 425 pounds at five foot seven! Do not worry, you can make changes a bit at a time. Rome wasn't conquered in a day, and now this diagnosis will force you to take care of yourself, as you will now have to be PRIORITY ONE. When you look a it this way, is it such a bad thing?
Trust me when I tell you that patience is NOT one of my virtues, but oh, have I had to learn!! You will do well and there is so much info on this website....so many good folks to chat with from all walks of life makes this board wonderful!!

Those numbers, ac1 and glucose, I don't think they are too bad....I would kind of be pleased myself because they aren't that out of control...sounds like you can grab a hold of this before it goes crazy...good luck, we are here for you!

Thank you all so much for your kind words! I appreciate it more than you know. <3

Annette, I don't have a glucose meter yet, but I am sure he will want me to get one. oy! I want one even if he doesn't want me to get one. I am paranoid now. I also picked up Dr. Bernstein's book at the library yesterday and am reading it now.

Is bloodsugar101 a website or a forum here and LCF? I'll go check when I get through.

I know these numbers aren't "terrible", my bff was diagnosed last year with an ac1 of 300+. So I know it could be worse, but lawdy, lawdy.. why didn't I do something before hand! pffft lol

Ravenrose, I so agree about the environmental stuff. I have 2 grandbabies on the autism spectrum and no one will EVER convince me that it is NOT environmental, at least to a point. I'm adopted and have no idea what my family history is... ugh.. that should be a requirement.. is that people get their darned medical (at least) histories. Funny my mother to metformin for years, I just assumed it was diabetic medicine like all the rest.. Judging by what you and a few others have said, it isn't regular diab. med????

Dirty Harriet, Oh girl my highest weight was 424 and when I went to the dr a couple of weeks ago I was at 403. I am 5'6, I have been 5'9 since I was 16 yrs old.. but whatever is wrong with my back is shrinking me I guess because I am now 5'6..

That girl, Gracie Jean, and everyone, thank you again for your words of encouragement AND WISDOM!!

OH AND thank you for the heads up on strips!! I am pretty sure I can get the dr to give me what I say I want. He will just be happy that I am getting my act together. He told me at my appt earlier this month, that everyone in the room but me, loved me (the dr and my hubby were in there) and that they wanted me to stick around.. <3